Quick answer
A hook is the opening line or shot that gives a viewer a reason to stay. The strongest hooks show the result first, name the viewer, state a specific number, or open a question the video then answers. Say it in the first second, show it on screen as text, and deliver on it before the video ends.
Four rules
- Start mid-action. No greeting, no "so today I wanted to". The first frame should already be moving.
- Be specific. "Three mistakes in your first sourdough" beats "baking tips".
- Put it on screen. Many people watch without sound. Add the hook as text in the first frame.
- Pay it off. A hook that the video does not deliver earns a swipe and a "not interested".
Result first
- This took four minutes and cost less than a coffee.
- Here is the finished room. Now watch how it started.
- I fixed it. This is what was wrong.
- Before and after, and it only took one change.
- This is the shot. Here is how I got it.
- One pan, twelve minutes, done.
- I tried it for 30 days. Here is the result.
- This is what 100 hours of practice looks like.
Name the viewer
- If you have just started running, watch this first.
- For anyone who has a tiny kitchen.
- If your plants keep dying, it is probably this.
- Left-handed people will understand this.
- If you are learning Korean, save this one.
- Small business owners, this took me too long to learn.
- This is for the person who always runs late.
- If you edit on your phone, you need this setting.
A number
- Three things I would never buy again.
- The one setting that fixed my audio.
- Five places in Tainan that locals actually go to.
- Two words that changed how I write emails.
- Seven seconds is all this takes.
- I tested four budget tripods. One was good.
- The 2-minute rule I use every morning.
- One ingredient makes this work.
Open a question
- Why does nobody talk about this?
- What happens if you leave it for a week?
- Can you tell which one is real?
- I did not expect this to work.
- Guess how much this cost.
- There is a mistake in this video. Can you see it?
- Is this worth the price? I checked.
- What is the worst that could happen?
Contrast or correction
- Stop doing it this way. Do this instead.
- Everyone says you need this. You do not.
- I was wrong about this for years.
- The cheap one is better. Here is why.
- You are probably holding it wrong.
- This is not what the instructions say.
- I thought this was a scam. It is not.
- The beginner way and the fast way.
Check whether a hook worked
Open the video's analytics and look at the retention graph. If the line drops sharply in the first two seconds, the hook did not hold. Compare three videos with different hook types and keep the type with the flattest start. For how retention affects distribution, see how the For You page works.
